Cascade Hut / Matukituki River

A quick overnight micro mission up the Mount Aspiring Valley to Cascade Hut and return via the upper Matukituki River for the first ever winter descent in an ‘Explorer 300’ Rubber Dinghy!

Surprisingly the Explore survived and held up pretty well, its wide surface area glided over the smooth boney sections of the river.

24-25th July 2021. Crew: Lee & Doug

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Hollyford and Pyke Packrafting Loop

When I first looked at the map of the Hollyford & Pyke River it took me a moment to realise that the Pyke River flows away from the sea and in that moment I thought YES this trip is going to be ace...it's made for packrafts and beats the usual 10 day hike!

The loop is one of New Zealand's best multi day packrafting trips, a true classic achievable for most and set in an epic part of the country, Fiordland. Its a relativity low graded river class (I/II) broken up with some steady walking through native beech forests, coastal estuaries and beaches but best of all you start and finish at the same point. Thank you mother nature!

Our aim was to do the trip in 3 nights which is reasonably quick, people have done it in less but 4-5 nights would be the standard and in all honesty why rush it, this is one the of the most remote and beautiful places in the country. To achieve the trip in 3 days we needed to cover some good ground with a few key features in place. If there is a sea breeze across Lake McKerrow or incoming tide up the estuary and server weather then plans will need to change which may add extra time to the trip.

Below is a brief summery of our trip, we certainly had a bit of luck on our side and we feel that the times are reasonably quick as we didn't hang around too much - sandflies! We were also lucky to have the entire route and the huts to ourselves, not a single soul insight - all of the other packrafters in the country were at the annual meet in Lewis Pass!

Day 1: Road End to McKerrow Island Hut. 6hrs. 28km paddle

The paddle to McKerrow Island Hut is fairly straight forward, steady paddling with a few minor rapids. The main hazards here are log jams, which from a distance look to be somewhat problematic but once we got nearer a clear line through was obvious. We portaged the Little Homer Rapids class (III) on the true right as most people do, walking the short wet and muddy track to which people winch jet boats through the bush! The river then continues with its large steady flow all the way to the hut apart from the noticeable class (II) rapid, not long before the get out at Lake McKerrow.

Day 2: McKerrow Island Hut to Big Bay Hut. 10.5hrs. 21km paddle. 13km walk.

This day is the decider and was a somewhat unknown to how long it would take us to paddle across Lake McKerrow. We set off early to get ahead of any incoming sea breeze but luckily for us the breeze never came and we had a perfectly calm day - so much so we were able to paddle directly across the centre of the lake, taking the shortest line. If there is an inkling of a breeze its far safer to paddle close to the track, as more than likely if the breeze picks up walking would be the most efficient method. It took just under 4 hours to paddle across Lake McKerrow and another 2 hours, on high tide to reach Martin Bay hut - which is super quick!

After a wee rest and cuppa at Martins Bay Hut we decided to head to Big Bay Hut. Because of high tide we took the high track through the shrubbery and flaxes. This was tough going with lots of bush bashing and keen scouting skills. After an hour or so and to our relief we finally emerged onto the beach and much easier walking to Big Bay, because of the shorter days we reached the hut just after dark. The GPS was useful here!

Day 3: Big Bay Hut to Olivine Hut. 7.5hrs. 17km paddle. 12km walk.

We crossed the estuary in the packraft rather than walking up to the swing bridge, this saved us abit of time. The track onwards is relatively well defined but a tad overgrown in places. It was pretty wet this day and the track seemed to drag on and meander a fair bit but there is some wicked scenery amongst the dry river beds and the bird songs was awesome to hear. After leaving the hut 4 hours earlier we finally reached the Pyke River - excited for some paddling!

The Pyke had a good flow so we were able to get directly in the river. From here a fairly steady paddle down to Lake Wilmot, which only took us 30mins to cross with the tailwind. I loved the feel of the Pyke, it felt different from the Hollyford - abit more wild and this time you are paddling away from the sea and into the mountains so the landscaped changed with each stroke.

Eventually we reached Olivine Hut which is visible from the river. We had a few hours to spare before dark so we collected some firewood and I played around on the Cable Crossing and went for a refreshing dip with the sandflies! This was my favourite hut to which again we had to ourselves.

Day 4: Olivine Hut to Road End. 10hrs. 16km paddle. 18km walk

The final day, a big day which was also the highlight of our trip. We set of early amongst the erie morning river mist. The low cloud cleared and the sun began to shine as we hit Lake Alabaster. We couldn't believe our eyes when we got to the Lake it was like a sheet of glass, perfectly still and calm. The packrafts seemed to be floating on air above the crystal clear reflections of the mountains and forests around us. I'm not sure how often packrafters get to experiences these conditions here, but its certainly felt special.

Once over the lake, past Alabaster Hut and beyond the Pyke Lodge we anchored a deflated our rafts for the final time, the paddling was over and the last 5 hours on foot began. The track back to the Road End is very well trodden yet it was still tough work after a long trip. The heavy packs began to take their toll but between waterfall scenery stops and hits of dark chocolate we reached the final swing bridge and arrived at the exact point to where we set off a few days earlier. We had gone full circle and completed what has to be my favourite New Zealand packraft adventure.

Crew: Lee & Rory. 13th -16th April 2017

East Matukituki Packrafting

This is a classic day trip from Wanaka, it has the feel of a 'mini' wilderness trip as apposed to other local trips down the Matukituki/Clutha/Hawea. The trip would also make a superb overnight adventure if you camped at the 'Rock Of Ages Bivouac' amongst the stunning Kitchener River or the large grassy meadow at Junction Flat.

The walk to Junction Flat from the car is steady going, you can save upto an hour if you cross the Matukituki River at Cameron Flat rather than taking the swing bridge further up the valley. After a couple of hours the single wire bridge is reached which crosses over to Junction Flat, from here you can put in anywhere below the bridge and enjoy the class II/III river sections back to the start. There is an obvious class III rapid which can be easily portaged and scoped, its certainly runnable with some good manovering, just keep and eye on the large undercut at the final boulder!

From here the river mellows with some great emerald green pools and fantastic views over to Avalanche Glacier, not visible on the walk in. The river slowly begins to braid as you reach the Matukituki and the short walk back to the car

Crew: Lee, Dan & Jeff. 2.5hrs walk to Junction Flat. 2hrs Paddle to Matukituki River. 29th October 2016